Truth for silence

Light streamed into the room from the open window, causing Krillian to blink open his sleep-filled eyes. The first thing he could see was his beautiful baby fast asleep beside him, wrapped in her blanket. Her curly hair flopped to the side as the binky hung from her slightly agape mouth. It made him chuckle as he sat in bed, just as he heard the keys jiggle and saw the knobs turning.

Chris and Trevor stood on the other side of the door; just as they opened it, they found Krillian getting dressed as he stood shirtless. No one could say the boy was buff, but he had muscle. Whereas Chris and Trevor had the build of a football player, Krillian was more of a soccer player or a swimmer. He stood as Chris looked him up and down, and Trevor rolled his eyes.

"Are you going to stand there, or do you have a reason for barging in?" Chris looked to Trevor as the beta shrugged his shoulders.

"We couldn't hear you."

" I guess I'm just that graceful."

"So graceful we didn't hear your heartbeat?" Chris's voice was cold and calculated. Krillian could hear the accusation in the wolf's voice, but for these two to come in and ask why they couldn't listen to him meant either the Alpha didn't tell anybody or these two were not high-ranked enough to receive information. But they must have some rank; this one sat too comfortably in the Alpha's office. They also were patrolling the pack's borders; maybe they were deltas. Krillian inner monologue seemed to stop once he saw that his shadow was still out of place. In contrast, everyone else's was to the left of them his was directly in front of his body.

"Maybe there's something wrong with your ears, mutt; you can hear my heartbeat now, can't you?" Chris's face hardened at the rudeness in Krillian's voice. Krillian didn't like that they had barged in and almost found out about Mel, but his words had hit Chris in a way that the boy didn't understand, and for some reason, it made him angry. Without even another word, he threw the chains at him. "What the hell am I supposed to do with this?" Krillian tossed the chains on the bed next to him as he slipped on a grey shirt making his muscles flex under his chocolate-colored skin.

"Put them on. You're going to see the alpha." Krillian rolled his eyes at the wolf before him as he stood there defiantly. The boy held out his wrist with a smile of victory as Trevor roles his eyes and walked to him, picking up the chains and placing them on the boy.

"Thank you. At least someone has common sense." Chris growled, snatching the boy's arm, but before he could say anything, they both looked at his hand, touching the boy's bare skin. They could feel a sensation that went through them, but only one knew what it meant.

"Sorry, j..just start walking." Chris turned away from him and walked out the door, and in his daze of confusion, Krillian followed. The three boys walked the endless hallways of the moonstone pack house. Following in a line Chris in the front, Trevor in the back, and Krillian dead smack in the middle. No one seemed to want to speak to each other. So they stayed silent as they finally made their way to the destination.

In front of them stood a set of French doors made of carved dark oak. They were beautiful, standing almost 7 feet tall, but it wasn't the height of the doors that caught his attention; the things carved and painted onto them, on the left door were trees and rocks and rivers, but within the woods depicted were werewolves. They howled at the moon, which was split in half by the separation between the doors. On the right door was a field surrounded by a forest, inside the area where two cloaked figures stood. One held a dagger in their hand while the other had an open book in theirs, but both of them looked towards the figure that seam to descend from the moon.

Krillian scoffed at the mural; it spoke of fairytale whispers of the day werewolves and Witches became enemies. Everyone knew that that day was much more bloody and backstabbing than the fantasy painted on this door.

"Don't scoff at our history; it's disrespectful." Krillian's quirked an eyebrow at Trevor, who now stood beside him, as did Chris.

"What's disrespectful is the lies, pai.." Doors pulled apart, and standing behind it was the Alpha herself, and with the looked she pinned Krillian with told him all he needed to know. He was to shut his mouth and not speak of this any longer. Krillian could see the movement of her second soul within her eyes. It was a beast that would've been unchained if he had challenged the teachings of her people.

"Your early she hasn't gotten here yet."

"Sorry, Alpha, something came up, and we woke him up early." Chris bowed his head to the alpha before straightening his posture.

"What happened? Did he try to escape?"

"No, Alpha, we accidentally gave him a soundproof room. We couldn't hear anything from his room when we went to guard the door this morning."

"That's impossible. I was sure that I gave you the right room ke..." the Alpha's words caught in her throat once they clicked in her head. The she-wolf realized what he had done and shot the Witch a dirty look before fixing her face. "No matter, it's too late now. Come in and have a seat Denah should be here shortly." The three quickly walked into the room. Inside was a large oval table, one where three people were already sitting at. The first person he saw was Chris's dad, Sam. Another was a man with claw marks across his face. He was buff with short red hair.

Last but not least was sitting across the table from where Trevor rudely pushed him into a seat was the girl from last night. The one who had applied that god's awful healing sabe to his wounds. Surprising to him, it had helped some.

"She's usually on time for gossip. I'm surprised she wasn't the first person here." Chris replies to his alpha, but when Krillian tunes out the others in the room, something else catches his eye. He was to occupy yesterday to see it, but now he did. Krillian and the girl across from him stared into each other's eyes. Both showed that they were different but hers more so. The Witch could see it. The second soul of a wolf resided within her, but so did a spark. Something that only belonged to witches. She stared at him in amazement; where she had a spark of magic within her, his was a wildfire that blazed within him. Krillian smiled at her before nodding his head towards the girl in thanks.

She was confused, but for some reason, she knew precisely why he thanked her, but he couldn't help but have a little sadness in his smile. It wasn't for himself; it was for her. He was different, but she was a creature born before her time, a hybrid, both witch and wolf, born into a world where her two halves were supposed to hate each other. The girl nodded her head back toward him with a smile. It was her way of reassuring her that she wasn't in any danger, but even Krillian could feel that was a half-truth. Before he could question it, he quickly changed the look on his face once he saw Trevor staring at them oddly. First, he looked to Krillian, who swiped all emotions from his facial expression, then he looked to the girl, who only met his glare with a cold one of her own.

"What are you two glaring at each other about this time?" Chris sat himself down on the other side of Krillian, making the little witch startled. One because Krillian didn't hear the conversation between the Alpha and Chris end, the other because of how close Chris sat by him. It was something he couldn't understand; the feeling of their legs bumping against each other sent shivers down Krillian's spine in such a good way. He could smell the cologne coming off of Chris, which only caused Krillian's head to swim more. So the witch did the only thing he could think of. He crossed his leg over the other, forming a gap between him and Chris. From how the wolf looked at him, he could tell he wasn't the only one feeling this way. That only made Krillian want to distance himself even more.

" Gabby is making googly eyes with this dread-headed assassin." Gabby, the black-haired, green-eyed beauty sitting across from Krillian, formed her beauty into one full-lipped smile.

"Are you jealous?" Gabby asked; Trevor only scoffed. "I would be, too, if I was you. He's one of the most handsome guys I've ever seen. Look at him: that rich brown complexion, those honey-brown eyes, and that jawline. Shit, I think he's even out of Chris's league. So no wonder you feel like he's a threat, mister second most handsome; you just got knocked down to third."

"Shut up, you halfbreed runt. I don't have to take shit from a weakling like you." The glare that came from Gabby was something poisonous it made whatever else was about to go out of Trevor's mouth get stuck in his throat. Krillian could feel the magic coming off her just as a mirror in the room shattered.

"That's enough, you two; this is an official meeting. We don't need the both of you arguing through the whole damn thing."

"Sorry, alpha." The two spoke at the same time.

"So..... if this is such an important meeting, why am I here?"

"You said you came from Tennessee, correct?"

" Yes." Krillian smiled

"Does the mountain peak pack ring a bell?" The smile slipped right off Krillian's face. Now he realized why he was here. "I didn't want to come to this conclusion because you are only a teenager, but the pieces fit, and from the look on your face, you know exactly what I'm talking about, don't you, Krillian?" Krillian swiped away the look on his face with a sigh. The only thing he could do was look at the ceiling and smile.

"I do." Krillian head stayed the way it was, his eyes now closed. He couldn't blame her for thinking the way she did. A witch ran from the same state an entire pack was burned to death in. The rogue wolves chasing him make it look even more like he did it because even a rogue would hunt down a witch who killed their kind. But maybe this is for the best for them to think that he destroyed them; if they are his enemies, then they won't try to protect him any longer. A tear ran down his face at the thought of the goddess peak. Everyone watched him, some thinking he was crying from guilt, others from sadness. All Krillian could think was that it was just another atrocity written under his family name.

"Are you responsible for the mountain peak massacre?" Krillian kept his eyes closed as a sad smile came to his face. "Answer me, boy." Even with so much strength in her voice Krillian didn't speak; he sat there. His emotional side screamed yes, that it was his fault and that if he stayed, they too would die. Then there was the logical side, the balanced, the witch that said no, that the only thing he did was set them free. That the only crime he committed was allowing his fragmented heart to lead his way instead of his head, but because of these two sides of him, he could not muster his voice to speak his truth. So he just sat their eyes finally open and face bare of any emotion.

"It's fine, Alpha Alexandria; I'll get the answers we need from him." Krillian turned to see a woman standing at the door. She had long blonde hair, clear white eyes, and pointed ears. That told Krillian all he needed to know; she an elf but not just any kind of elf but a mental expert. He could tell because of the color of her eyes. Only mental elves have clear white eyes, but that means she is a very dangerous creature.

"Denah, it's about time you arrived." The alpha spoke to her in a delightful tone.

"Sorry, but I was ordered to investigate the mountain peak territory by the elders." Krillian's body stiffened at the words. "But everything was turned to ash by hellfire, although I was able to find one thing not far away from the pack." Denah pushed the door farther open, revealing a teenage boy behind her. The moment the door was open, the boys and Krillian's eyes met, and everyone in the room could hear Krillian gasp. Denah looked between the two, but neither of them said anything. "Do you recognize him?" Krillian could tell that the question was directed toward both of them.

"No.. sorry, I still don't remember."

"What does he mean he doesn't remember?" It was Chris who spoke up this time.

"This is Malik Auburn, the son of the gamma of the mountain peak pack. When I found him, he was passed out in the woods several miles away from the territory. He has no recollection of the past year. I tried to dive into his memories, but there was a powerful seal on them. That's one of the reasons I know it was a witch who destroyed their pack." Chris and Trevor sat up in their seat at the mention of witches. It had never even crossed their minds that the boy they fought in the woods was a witch. If he could fight like that, what would have happened if he had used his magic? Chris tightened his fist as his mind drifted to the feeling he gets around him. He wondered if that was what it was or if he was mistaken.

"Well, what about you? By your reaction, you obviously recognize him, or are you just surprised that you left a member of mountain peak alive?" Krillian still said nothing as he held a small smile and looked at the boy staring at him. At first, his gaze was full of anger and hatred, but it quickly turned to one filled with questions. Denah looked between the two. She could see Malik grabbing the sides of his head; it was a clear sign that he was trying to force himself to remember.

"Please don't do that to yourself; your memories will return when you're strong enough to handle them, Malik," Krillian spoke to the light-skinned boy, only to have him snarl in return before storming out.

"Alpha.."

"Don't worry, Denah, we have eyes on him, but I believe it's time to get some answers." The both of them turned to the boy in the chair as Chris and Trevor turned him towards Denah, who walked up to the boy, removed her gloves from her hands, and placed her fingertips on his temples.

"I will only ask you once, don't dive into my mind." His eyes were as sharp as daggers when he looked at the elf before him.

"Sorry, kid, but you don't have the power to scare me." Denah closed her eyes while laying her hands on his temples, and Krillian body started to twitch. It wasn't long before the boy began to sweat, and Denah grunted in pain. The windows cracked, and blood dripped from both of their noses. A high-pitched scream came from Denah as she was flung back into a wall. Krillian's body was shaking as his muscles were strained.

"Denah, what happened?"

"He's stronger.. than I thought he would be; every time I would try to push deep into his mind, he would only push back. He's received mental training."

"I'm sorry, I thought that since he was so skilled in fighting that he may have only been at the level of a battle witch, but maybe we have someone much more dangerous on our hands." Quickly the alpha nodded, and the wolves in the room cuffed Krillian's arms and legs to the chairs. The boy could feel that they were magic resistance.

"No! Stop, you don't know what you're doing!" Krillian could see the power leaving his shadow.

"I'm sorry, but you're too great of a threat to allow you to leave. Denah, I think you need to get in contact with the elde..." the cry of a baby rug, loud and clear, threw out the room.

"Please! I'm begging you to take these things off of me. You'll suffocate HER!" But they were too distracted by the shadow that was welling like a baby and trying to pry itself off the ground.

"What the hell is that?" Gabby asked as she locked to the thing in front of them. As the pitch grew louder, Krillian's arms glowed a deep purple, and the chains on him burst, setting him free just in time to dive to the floor and pull out a crying child from the shadows.

"I got you, baby; it's okay; daddy's here." The witch cradled his daughter to his chest. The baby still cried as everyone finally snapped out of it.

"Gabby, check her."

"Yes, Alpha." Gabby was quick on her feet as she walked over to Krillian, but she paused at the sharp look in his eyes. The wild flames she had seen earlier were now a roaring forest fire, one that would engulf anyone he saw as a threat. "It's okay. I want to make sure the baby is alright." He looked her in the eyes as he nodded his head.

"But only you." Gabby dropped to her knees beside them as Krillian hand Mel over to her.

"How old is she." Gabby placed her ear on the girl's chest listening to the way she was breathing.

"Just barely over a year." Gabby nodded as she started to check her for any damage that could have been done by the shadow collapsing. While Gabby checked on the child, Denah pulled Alpha Alexandria to the other side of the room.

"We need to call the elders now." Denah whisper yelled.

"What, why so urgently?"

"When I was in his head, he could stop me from seeing most things but not everything."

"What exactly did you see, Denah?"

"I don't know how to explain it, it... it was like clips of his memories. I saw pieces of his time with the mountain peak wolves. I felt his emotions toward them. They cared for him, but then they attacked; something was wrong with them. They were like a soulless beast."

"Are you saying that this was all self-defense?"

"I don't know, but that's not the only thing I saw. I...I saw something much worse than a memory that was too strong for him to suppress. I saw him beaten and in chains. He's not running from something; he is running from someone." Denah looked at Krillian; he looked her in the eyes, full of fear.

"We may be in over our heads; if you think it's best, call the elders." Denah started for the door, but before she could reach it. They slammed closed. Krillian stood there, everyone facing him as his hands were held out towards the entries in question.

"I'll tell you anything you want to know about what happened to the mountain peak pack, just as long as you don't contact the elders."

"Why don't you want the elders called? They could help you know whatever is coming for you." Krillian paused as he looked at them, anger and fear in his eyes.

"Maybe the elf elder and maybe the wolf, but not mine, and we all know with one come all. I can't bring Elder Maria into this." Chris looked to his mom, who was about to challenge everything Krillian said.

"Alpha, please." Chris bowed to his Alpha before him. "Hear him out. I can tell by his heartbeat that he's sensor." Alexander still had a look on her face that she wanted to object.

"Alpha, wasn't the point of this meeting to figure out what happened to our sister pack? I say that if he's willing to speak up, then we don't need to involve the three Elders." The giant redhead was in the corner with the scares which had spoken.

"Fine. I'll listen then, but Chris, this one is under your watch, and Maidox, the other one is yours. Since you both wanted to speak up." Chris rolled his eyes as he heard his father and Maidox both suppress a laugh. Most people find it funny how the alpha hated being interrupted. "Maidox, if you would please go find that Malik boy, I think he should be here when Krillian tells what happened to his pack." With a nod, Maidox was gone in a blur of speed and power.

"Krillian, you may already know, but I will say it anyways. If you even tell one lie, and we will know if you do, I will call in the elders." He nodded in understanding just as Maidox carried in a hog-tied Malik.

"What is the name of Freya? What did you do to him?" Denah asked as Maidox untied his feet and sat him in a chair.

"He punched me, and it stung."

"Alright, let's get to it." Krillian sat crisscrossed on the floor with his daughter standing before him, playing with his hair, and Gabby sat beside him. She could feel the dark emotions coming from him. Tears started to flow from his eyes as he opened his mouth.

"He needs a bowl, water bottle, and a knife. Chris, would you please." The wolf gestured with his head toward Denah as he left the room. Krillian got off the floor and walked toward the head of the table.

"I ca... I can't put it in words; what happened that day will forever be scared on my mind. To speak, it is just something I can't do, so I'll show you." Krillian put his hand out for the bowl that Chris had brought into the room not long after he started speaking. The wolf set the objects in front of him. With a nod of thanks to Chris, Krillian Opened the water bottle, pouring its contents into the bowl. With a quick motion, the bottle went up in flames, disappearing. It stunned the wolf long enough for him to grab the knife and slice open his wrist.

"What the hell!" Chris spoke out as he snatched the knife from his hand. The witch only rolled his eyes as he let the blood turn the water a crimson red. When he was done, he flipped his wrist over and glazed his hand over the wound, healing it in an instant. The alpha's eyes widened at what she just saw; not only was the boy trained in combat and mental defense, but he was also a healer. In that instance, she knew standing before her was no mere battle witch. If she hadn't come to the woods last night when she did, would Trevor and Chris have been able to subdue him, or would they have failed?

"So how will a bowl of blood and water show us the truth?" Trevor asked with sarcasm in his voice. Krillian gave him a look that whipped his smirk away.

"Why is it that a being that can change into a 6-foot wolf is skeptical about the abilities of a witch."

"Sorry, I wasn't being skeptical. I didn't realize asking for an explanation of your abilities was too much for you." Krillian's eyes changed; there was no pupil; his honey-brown iris was gone. All that was left was a deep dark purple.

"I have had a very long and stressful two years, so the last thing I feel like being questioned by is a mutt on a leash he can't even see; you got that." Trevor's eyebrows rose, and he nodded his head with a smirk. "Now, since I know some people in this room might not trust me, I'll show... Gabby?" The girl nodded to confirm that he had said her name right. "I'll show Gabby how to perform the spell." While Krillian taught Gabby, Melonie walked around the room giggling at the wolves around her. She went from playing with the alpha to surprising Maidox because even though he looked big and scary, she forced him to pick her up. Krillian glanced at his daughter to see her tracing the big man's scars. She laid a kiss on the scare on his cheek. The man in front of her chuckled and started to tickle her. The poor baby couldn't find freedom until a zap threw her body into the man's hand. Instantly he stopped, and Mel patted his head before crawling down. Before she could get away, her father stood before her.

He had a pointed look, and she knew she was in trouble. So the little girl did what she was used to doing, she looked around the room and ran towards him. She raised her arms to him as she started to yell his name, and Krillian froze for seconds. Malik just looked at her as if he was still tied up.

"Mel.." the young father started, but he couldn't finish before his daughter grew frustrated, and the ropes on his body fell loose. Malik looked from The little girl to her father; the witch just smiled and gave him a nod. It took him a minute to stare at her before he picked her up and let her cuddle to his chest. All he could do was smile.

"Why.. why is she doing this?" The smile was still plastered to his face as he asked.

"It's only natural; you helped me raise her after all." His face lit up in surprise at what he said, but before he could question it, Krillian turned towards Gabby as she spoke.

"Okay, I think I'm ready." She picked up the bowl and took a deep breath.

"Mez au tavou" she tilted the bowl, and the contents slowly poured onto the table and stretched out, moving to the table's edge. Instead of the liquid flowing over the end of the table, it stopped and hardened, making itself like a mirror. She looked to the witch for confirmation before she tapped on the red mirror-like substance three times. Causing it to ripple. "sanguis revelare" as the waves settled, images started to appear. Everyone could see the goddess peak pack kitchen and everyone eating breakfast.

"Why can't we see you?" Asked Gabby

"The blood mirror allows you to see threw the eyes of who's ever blood is within the spell. You are seeing everything that I did on the day that the mountain peak pack fell."